East Bearskin Lake vs Pike Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than East Bearskin Lake (B, Good). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
East Bearskin Lake and Pike Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The grades are close: East Bearskin Lake (B) and Pike Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
East Bearskin Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Pike Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | East Bearskin Lake | Pike Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 14 ft | 17.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 7 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 66 ft | 45 ft |
| Surface Area | 593.29 acres | 814.43 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 12 | 7 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pike Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus East Bearskin Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 17.4 ft vs 14 ft. For more fish-species variety, East Bearskin Lake edges ahead with 12 documented species.